Morehead State Baseball opens season at Bulldog Classic

MOREHEAD, Ky. – The 2013 Morehead State Baseball season gets underway this weekend, as the Eagles travel to Huntsville, Ala., for the Bulldog Classic.

The season opener will take place Friday at 3 p.m. ET against host school Alabama A&M. On Saturday, the Eagles have a doubleheader against Indiana State, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m., before wrapping up their opening weekend Sunday with a 2 p.m. tilt against IPFW.

This weekend will mark the first outing under new Head Coach Mike McGuire, who came to MSU from Louisburg College, where he led the Hurricanes to a No. 1 ranking in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

“We are going to be ready to go on Friday,” McGuire said. “We’ve been able to work with our pitchers to build pitch counts, and our hitters have taken a lot of swings in the cage and during intrasquads to prepare us for the season.”

Depth will be a key this season as MSU returns six starters in the field from the 2012 squad that finished the season 28-27. Two of those veterans are junior outfielder Nick Duff and senior outfielder Taylor Pickens, who were both selected to the 2013 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference baseball team.

The Eagles also return three starting pitchers from the 2012 squad, as well as senior closer Matt Duncan. He led the OVC in saves last season while also setting the MSU record for saves in a season with 13. Duncan joined Duff and Pickens on the Preseason All-OVC team, tying MSU with Austin Peay for the most all-conference selections.

Sophomore pitcher Aaron Goe is expected to toe the rubber on Friday. Goe was MSU’s most consistent starter in 2012, posting a 6-5 record in 16 appearances. Sophomore pitcher Blake Smith will take the mound for Saturday’s first game, with junior pitcher Noah Smallwood starting the back end of the doubleheader. Freshman pitcher Tyler Keele is expected to get the first start of his Eagle career on Sunday.

All four of this weekend’s games will have live audio broadcasts available on MSUEagles.com. Make sure to check the official athletic department web page all season for game recaps and updates.

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